New Student Wellness Center Underway at the University of Chicago

CHICAGO, IL – Construction on the new Student Wellness Center at the University of Chicago’s Hyde Park campus has begun. Scheduled for completion in fall 2020, the new center will create a single, integrated facility for the university’s student health, counseling, and wellness resources.

University of Chicago

The 30,000-square-foot project includes the ground floor renovation of a portion of the historic building that currently houses the school’s student health clinic, known as the Lying-In Hospital, along with the construction of a new modern glass addition infilling an existing courtyard that will accommodate student counseling and health promotion services, both of which are relocating from separate campus locations. The new center will also provide a dedicated student entrance for greater ease of access.

The multi-story Lying-In Hospital building was designed in the late 1920s by Schmidt, Garden & Erickson in a Collegiate Gothic style. The project will capture the highly detailed limestone facades of the courtyard within the modern interior of the new infill addition. The gothic stone masonry will be on display by constituting the perimeter circulation walls of the main corridors. Continuous overhead skylights will bring abundant natural light into these passages, celebrating the building’s craftsmanship and continuity between old and new.

Working with an aggressive timeline, Wight & Company will complete the first phase of the project by spring 2020. The firm is partnering with GMA Construction, a veteran- and minority-owned firm based on Chicago’s South Side.

Featured

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Spaces4Learning Announces 2026 Product Award Winners

    Spaces4Learning has just announced the winners of the 2026 Product Awards! The award program spotlights outstanding product development achievements of manufacturers and suppliers whose products or services are considered to be particularly noteworthy in their ability to enhance K–12 and higher-education learning environments.

  • Wold Completes Geothermal Projects at Two Minnesota Schools

    Wold Architects & Engineers recently announced that it has completed two geothermal expansion projects for Mounds View Public Schools in Shoreview, Minn., according to a news release. The work at Highview Middle School and Irondale High School serves the district’s long-term goal of reducing energy costs and dependency on non-renewable fuel sources, as well as improving building performance.

  • Cal Poly Humboldt Starts Construction on Healthcare Education Hub

    California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in Arcata, Calif., recently announced that work has begun on a renovation project that will turn the Stewart Building into a new Healthcare Education Hub, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Sundt Construction Inc. for construction services.